A 52-year-old Chicago businessman claims he is the "best organized" of any of the Republicans who’re running for president. John Cox is in the midst of his 14th trip to Iowa, with stops today in Des Moines, Clarion, Okoboji and Estherville.

"We’ve been in all 99 counties. I’ve spoken at seven county conventions. I’ve spoken at three district conventions," Cox says. "(I) got standing ovations and tremendous response from the Republican activists." Cox claims to have one-thousand supporters committed to voting for him in the Iowa Republican Party’s Straw Poll in August — an event that is an early test of strength in the presidential campaign.

"We’ve got volunteer coordinators in every single one of the 99 counties in Iowa," Cox says. "We are, I think, by far the best organized presidential campaign in the state. The other guys are spending huge amounts of money to hire the political professionals. We’re going to the grassroots, the people who actually come out to the Caucuses and vote."

Yet Cox does not register in public opinion polls gauging which candidate is catching the eyes of likely Iowa Republican Caucus-goers. Cox says that’s because the "main stream media" isn’t paying attention to his candidacy. "There’s 99 volunteer coordinators around the state who believe I’m a candidate," Cox says. "We’re about to do a mailing into Iowa, a 200,000-piece mailing to introduce me to Iowa voters."

Cox favors overhauling the nation’s tax system and promises to find a "real resolution" to the war in Iraq. "I’m not a celebrity. I’m a businessman, a Reagan Republican who has been very active in Republican circles and I’m carrying a message that Republicans need to start acting like Republicans," Cox says. "That’s a message I think will resonate with the people of Iowa."

Cox claims Dee Byerly, a key Republican activist in the Mason City area, has declared Cox "the best hope for keeping the presidency in 2008." Byerly says Cox "is a very nice man" but she is not supporting him. Byerly has not yet picked which of the more than one dozen G-O-P candidates she will back in 2008. Cox will remain in Iowa tomorrow and plans to visit the ethanol plant in Denison Friday afternoon at two o’clock. His campaign website is www.cox2008.com .